RSWBY, with a silent S
by Tristan.Hawke
Summary: Silver, in heraldry, represents brightness, purity, virtue, and innocence. Very few people believe that about the swordsman called by that name. Including the staff of Beacon, and most of his new acquaintances. For that matter, neither does he.
1. Intro to Steel

-RSWBY-

-Intro-

Red like roses fills my dreams,

and takes me to the place you rest.

Steel shines Silver through the night,

guardian of the trav'ler's rest.

White is cold and always yearning,

burdened by a royal test.

Black the beast descends from shadows.

Yellow beauty burns gold.

A/N: Introducing my OC, Silver. He's sarcastic, laid-back, outspoken, and a few other thing that will become clear in time. Skillwise, he is, in essence, a more badass version of Black: faster, slightly stronger, with a few special attributes. Weaponwise, he uses a piece of triple-threat slaughter called the Variant Configuration Longswords Link-system. Dual blades, claymore, and staff in one package! As far as looks go... Well, you'll have to wait and see.


	2. Chapter One: Enter SIlver

A/N: Wow... I was going to wait a while before writing this, much less releasing it. But, you all have convinced me to change my mind. Well done internet... Sadly, I likely won't be able to update a often as I would like, as I'm in my senior year of high school. However, rest assured: I will not abandon this story. Several people have already made note of Silver's apparent resemblance to several comic book characters. I did not base him off of anyone, except a few aspects of myself. He is a guardian, so he will be fighting at close range exclusively until he makes a new weapon. This is my way of balancing him: he is very likely OP at close quarters, due to his speed and ambidexterity. For an idea of his speed: he can move several hundred feet before his afterimage vanishes. He leaves every current character in the dust, including White and Black. And his reflexes are just as fast.

Disclaimer: Rooster Teeth owns the Dust, I'm just writing in it.

-RSWBY-

Chapter 1

Enter Silver

Silver was taking a stroll, minding his own business as he wandered in front of a small Dust shop. The sixteen-year-old was wearing a long, light gray overcoat that hid most of his body below the neck, but it was still possible to see slender, well-muscled limbs. His face was shadowed, both by natural shadows and the ones cast by his long, messy hair.

"Well, this is boring. Nothing fun to do, nowhere to go, nobody to fight! Why can't something _interesting_ happen?" the teenager asked the thin air. Reaching under his coat to his hip, he pulled out a small box-like object from his right side. Roughly one foot long, three inches high, and four inches wide, it had a handle set into one corner. Spinning the item by this handle, Silver continued his bored wandering.

_**CRASH!**_

The sound of glass shattering underneath what sounded like a body, coming from only a few feet away from him, was all Silver needed to act. He made a perfect tumbling roll, pivoting as he came to his feet so that he faced the source of the loud shattering noise. He also withdrew a second, identical box from his left hip. Seeing the cause of the disturbance, a slightly psychotic smile split his face, and he pressed a button on each box. A series of mechanical whirs, clinks, and other such sounds later, the boxes were gone. In their place, Silver held a pair of single-edged longswords, roughly three-and-a-half feet long. "This should be fun!"

The cause of his optimism was the fact that there was a scythe-wielding girl around his own age glaring at eight men currently standing in the ruined window. Grinning, Silver called out cheerily, "Hey! Need a hand with these guys?"

"No, I can handle these guys!"

Silver frowned slightly and then scolded, "How selfish, keeping all the fun for yourself!"

The girl turned to him, giving him a mildly surprised glare. "Fun?"

Silver nodded happily, walking over to join the girl in the standoff. Once there, he swung his blades into a ready position. "Yes, fun."

"Well, what are you all waiting for? Get them while they're distracted!" yelled one of the men in the window, quite impatiently. Silver glanced at him, noticing the violently orange hair and immaculate white suit.

"You get three, I get four? You know, 'cause I had to dodge the eighth guy's body and all!" Silver was already moving as he finished speaking. The seven remaining goons had exited the window, only for four of them to be confronted by a yawning Silver. The scythe-wielding girl, in the meantime, engaged the other three.

Angered by the teen's seemingly-unimpressed demeanor, the four charged at him, only to find their attacks all blocked or dodged. Thus began the longest ninety seconds of their lives, which were spent as they tried desperately to either strike or block Silver. He, in turn, was sliding, spinning, jumping, and dashing around so fast his body was little more than a blur of black and light gray. Few of the goons' slashes came anywhere near his body, and those that did were turned back by his dual blades. These were moving as if he had a separate brain for each. He ended the fight quickly, delivering four separate hilt bashes to the back of the four goons' heads.

After the short and bloodless, but needlessly violent, beatdown:

The two teenage warriors surveyed the damage done to the street in silence: slash marks marred the stone, a well as impact craters from the few shot the girl had fired. Silver spared the scythe a moment's admiring glance: while not as advanced as his own swords, it was still impressive in the extreme. Shaking his head, he cheered, "Well that was certainly entertaining! I don't even know your name and I already like you!"

The girl, meanwhile, was not amused. "Fun?" she queried incredulously, an eyebrow raising. "That was _fun_? You- It- PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE GOTTEN HURT!" The last was roared at full volume, which would have been more intimidating if the pitch were lower.

As it was, Silver lowered his hands from his ears gingerly, peering at the girl in stunned silence. Well, stunned something-or-other. "Sweet Mother of Ashes, midget! Do you kill mice with that voice?"

Looking around, he picked up his swords from where he had dropped them, then glanced around the carnage-ridden street. '_Hm, I swear there's something missing... If only I kn-'_ He then sighed at his own stupidity. Turning to his still-glaring ally, he asked, "Did you see the guy in white anywhere?"

The violent girl stared at him for a moment, then spun around to search for the vanished man. She saw a flash of white at the top of a nearby roof access ladder, and sprinted towards it. "He's up there!"

Silver stared in surprise when she used the recoil from firing her gun to clear the wall in a single motion. "Maybe my next weapon should have a gun, then," he muttered, running at, then up, the wall.

On the top, he found his temporary ally chasing the orange-haired man across the roofs.

Sighing, he watched as she cornered him, then paused to listen to whatever the criminal was saying. The word "persistent" reached Silver's ears across the roof, causing him to smile.

Then, everything went to hell. A low whine filled the air, and a large dark gray VTOL jet rose up from below the wall. A bright light flashed on, and Silver didn't wait to see what happened before he moved. In less than a second, he had managed to place himself between the scythe-wielding vigilante and the unknown threat.

'What the Ash am I doing? I don't even know this idiot!' Silver mentally berated himself, but nevertheless slid into a defensive stance. He grimaced, resolving that this fight was the end of his career of sticking his neck out for others.

"End of the line, Red! Last stop, stranger!" Silver heard the man's voice just before the spotlight vanished, leaving him enough time to see the exceptionally large, red Dust crystal arcing towards them.

'_Shit! Even I can't dodge a Dust explosion that big with two people!_' thought Silver as he watched the glittering red object fall toward them. He pushed the girl behind him again, and narrowed his eyes when the white-suited man raised his cane, which was now clearly a weapon. He grimaced, and did his best to make sure he was shielding the girl's body with his own. "Man... I never thought I'd die for a stranger. Who would've guessed?" He chuckled humorlessly.

The gun fired, and time stood still for him. He could see the burst of energy move, could hear the girl's heartbeat behind him, feel his own heartbeat accelerate, and smell the burnt ozone that the blast left in its wake. '_Oh, well. Even if I die, I'll have saved one person._'

Of course, he didn't die, courtesy of a passing Huntress. Silver blinked as time resumed its normal pace, finding a blonde woman standing in front of him, wielding what looked like a riding crop. Of course, he was more interested in the glowing purple barrier that had saved his life.

"Wow, this is just perfect! What next, Ozpin offers us cookies?" Silver muttered, less than thrilled to see a Huntress. He didn't complain, however, when she launched a barrage of Dust projectiles at the jet. Neither could he suppress an approving nod when she summoned a lightning storm on top of the aforementioned aircraft. However, neither the storm nor his admiration prevented him from noticing the change of enemies in the jet's lowered panel.

Seeing the orange-red glow of fire Dust being manipulated, he prepared to dodge the attack. He needn't have bothered, though, as the ensuing fireball was not directed at him. Though he did have to jump back to avoid the next attack, which was, in essence, a miniature volcano directly underneath the three on the roof. He watched from one side, feeling rather useless, as Red and the Huntress launched a series of gun and Dust attacks at the jet. '_Yeah, that settles it. Next weapon has a gun form,_' he decided. The next hint he had that there was a problem were the Dust Circles that appeared underneath the two female fighters. Taking the initiative, he put his speed to good use, removing the two females from the area and jumping back to his old position.

By the time the massive eruption of fire finished, the jet was pulling away. Silver grimaced, and turned to the women in time to hear Red squeal, "Can I have your autograph?!" The swordsman groaned and slammed himself in the forehead with the pommel of one of his swords. A Huntress, and Huntress-wannabe, and a psychotic Dust manipulator.

"Can this night get any more... unexpected?!"

Later

The answer to what he had thought was a rhetorical question was yes, Silver discovered.

He and his erstwhile partner in crime were seated at a table in a small, dark room, with the Huntress pacing around them. Silver grimaced when he saw Red's downcast expression. '_Come on, lady. Red was at least trying to help people. I was trying to alleviate my own boredom!_'

"I hope you two realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly. You put yourselves and others in great danger!" The woman lectured while stalking around the small circle of light the two were sitting in. The anger in her voice was barely contained.

"But they started it!" Silver almost cried at the note of desperation in Red's voice.

"If it were up to me-"

At this point, Silver cut her off. Smiling lazily, he suggested, "We'd be flayed alive and fed to Grims?" Seeing the woman glare at him angrily, he continued to amuse himself. "We'd be dead already? Locked up with no hope of parole? Forced to strip and do a tango? Hung by our finger over a pot of boiling oil? How about thumbscrews?"

By this time, Red was staring at the as-yet unnamed swordsman in mild awe and disbelief. Awe, for daring to interrupt and mock a Hunter. Disbelief for much the same reasons. She did, however, take the opportunity to study the teenager while she could reliably see him.

He wasn't exactly tall, maybe five foot seven. He was fairly slender, but to what degree was hidden by his coat. His face was the only part of him easily visible: masculine features, clean-shaven, with a light tan and long, spiky hair that hung to his shoulders. Oddly, she noticed, it was the same shade of silver as her eyes.

The Huntress was lecturing Silver now, and he ignored her entirely. Instead, he chose to study the girl he had nearly killed himself for after maybe five minutes of knowing her. '_Hm... She's pretty damn cute_,' was his verdict. Red was almost exactly in line with Silver's taste in women: short-ish, pale skinned, dark haired, and able to kick the ass of almost anyone she wished. He noticed, with a slight grin, that she was a) staring at him, and b) had eyes the same color as his hair.

Allowing his grin to grow, Silver brushed away the hair that concealed his eyes, and Red stifled a small squeak of surprise. Instead of any more typical color, Silver's eyes looked like someone had melted a ruby and used it for his irises.

Sensing the Huntress' lecture was concluding, Silver shifted his attention back to her. "...But sadly, there's someone who wants to meet the two of you."

Shifting in his seat, Silver turned to look at the doorway, and almost did a double-take at what he saw. '_Professor Ozpin... with cookies and milk?_' he wondered, trying to think of when he could have taken such a severe blow to the head that hallucinations would have been possible. "What is it, give Silver-a-headache Day?"

The older silver-haired man gave the young swordsman a curious look, raising one eyebrow. Silver shrugged it off. Nodding, Ozpin turned his attention back to the table. "Ruby Rose and... what _is_ your name, actually?"

"To you, it's Silver. To my friends," Silver shrugged carelessly. "Well, they know my full name."

"Very well, Mister Silver, Miss Rose. I thought you two might be hungry," the professor said, setting the platter of cookies down in front of the two teenage melee fighters. The two shared disbelieving glances, then looked at the cookies, the professor, back at each other, then finally at the cookies. Both of the adults were taken aback by the near-war that erupted over the cookies, the entire plate emptied in a matter of seconds. Regaining his composure, Ozpin adjusted his glasses and gestured to a screen the Huntress now held. On it was a recording of their fight against the suit-wearing goons. "Where did you two learn to fight like that?"

"S-Signal Academy..." Red answered, but her hesitance made it sound more like a question.

"I taught myself." Silver's reply was quiet, utterly without his usual trace of humor.

"They taught you to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed? And how did you, Silver, teach yourself to move like that?" It was clear Ozpin was a skeptic of their answers.

"Well, one teacher in particular." At this point, Silver decided to just wait. It was too much effort keeping two conversations straight at once.

"I see. It's just that I've only seen one other scythe wielder with that skill before. A dusty old Crow." Ozpin's explanation made sense to Silver: scythes were regarded as a hit-or-miss art. Either you could use it and were good with it, or you killed yourself. Sort of like his original style.

"Crow? You mean my Uncle Crow? He's a teacher at Signal. I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing, and now I'm all like-" At the point she began to make scythe-like noises, Silver calmly reached across the table and put a hand over her mouth. He was also chuckling from her unintended pun.

"I see. And what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?"

Silver felt... something... at the adjective "adorable." It was not a pleasant sort of something. However, he decided it was par for the course. Nothing else regarding the scythe wielder had made sense, so why should his emotions?

"Well... I want to be a Huntress." Silver's eyebrows rose at the lack of Ruby's usual enthusiasm. She was completely serious.

"So you want to slay monsters?" Silver resisted the urge to say '_No shit, isn't that what Hunters do?_' However, he still thought it. He also thought Ozpin was fishing for something.

"Yeah. I only have two more years of training left at Signal, and then I'm going to apply to Beacon. See, my sister's starting there this year." '_She has a sister. Good to know_,' thought Silver, paying close attention. "And she's trying to become a Huntress. I'm trying to become a Huntress because I wanna help people. My parents alwa-"

"Red? You're babbling. Not good for job interviews," Silver teased, removing his hand from the excitable girl's mouth again. She stared at him with wide eye, as though trying to figure out what, exactly, had just happened.

"And you, Mister Silver? Where did you learn to move like that?" Ozpin's attention was now solely on the laid-back teen swordsman, and he felt a little uncomfortable. The professor's eyes, behind his glasses, seemed to go through the shield of humor he usually erected around himself.

"I taught myself. Speed, flexibility, balance? Those are easy." To prove his point, Silver flipped upside down, before lifting himself onto his fingertips. "The swords part? The prospect of a few body parts being sliced off encouraged me not to screw up."

"I see... And why did you want to learn to do these things?" Ozpin asked, not at all put off by the fact that Silver was now upside down, supported only by four fingers.

"It seemed fun at the time. And now it's turning out to be a great way to meet people!" Silver's cheerily given answer was nothing if not a bald-faced lie.

"And yet, you seem to be capable of more than we've seen." Before Silver could reply, the Huntress swept his hands out from under him, forcing him to twist in midair in order to land in a sitting position. The two glared at each other, but Ozpin interrupts before the hatred went any further. "Regardless, I take it you know who I am?"

"Professor Ozpin. You're the headmaster at Beacon Academy." The two teenagers replied in unison, though with very different tones. Ruby was slightly awed, while Silver was bored.

"Hello." Ozpin grinned suddenly, and Silver thought he saw a sense of humor in the man's sudden immaturity.

"Nice to meet you!" Ruby cheerfully replied, shaking the hand the professor had extended. Silver smirked slightly at that, then nodded to the head of one of the world's most prestigious combat schools.

"So. It is your goal, Miss Rose, to attend Beacon, is it not?"

"More than anything." Silver honestly could not believe that the short girl was so serious about a damn school. But he could tell it meant a lot to her.

"Mister Silver, I take it you aren't vaguely interested?"

"Schools aren't really my thing, but... I could do worse. DO I have to pay for room and board?"

"Nope! Everything's free!"

Silver grinned, and nodded again. "I'll give it a try when I'm old enough. I'm only sixteen, you know."

Ozpin rolled his eyes and glanced at his subordinate, who clearly disapproved. Turning back to the two teenagers, he smiled and said, "Well, okay! Be on the next airship!"

Some time later, on the ship to Beacon

"Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!"

Silver blinked at the loud outburst coming from further up the airship. The teenaged swordsman had removed his long coat and armor, leaving him in far more casual clothing that consisted of a light gray turtleneck, black slacks, and black combat boots. His hair was also pushed away from his face, letting his bright red eyes be seen far and wide. All of his other possessions were in a knapsack slung over his shoulder.

'_Baby sister? I only know of one person that could be..._' thought Silver, using a brief burst of his speed to rush up the airship in tie to find his partner from his last excursion talking to a rather... provocatively dressed blonde.

"What do you mean? It was incredible! Everyone at Beacon is going to think you're the bee's knees!" yelled the blonde, clearly overjoyed at the prospect of having her little sister accompany her to school. Grinning slightly evilly, Silver flickered in behind Ruby.

"I don't want to be the 'bee's knees', okay? I don't want to be any kind of 'knees'! I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees," protested the shorter, younger girl.

"But then you'd be boring, Red!" Silver whispered directly in her ear, then jumping backwards to avoid any possible violent reaction. He was in no particular hurry to be on the receiving end of Ruby's scythe.

"Eek!" Squealing, Ruby spun around towards the unexpected noise, flushing in embarrassment.

Silver broke down in helpless laughter at the expression on Ruby's face. "Sorry, Red, but that was too good an opportunity to pass up!" Grinning and stifling a few chuckles, he stood and approached the two girls amicably. "Sorry I ran off before we could properly introduce ourselves."

"Oh! You're the guy with the swords! Sorry, you just look different without the coat on." Unless Silver were misjudging things, Ruby seemed genuinely pleased to see him.

"Yep, that's me! Swords, sarcasm, and cheap party tricks, at your service, Miss Rose." Grinning, Silver made an extravagant bow to the small scythe-wielder.

"Oh... You already know my name, but I don't know yours..."

Silver took pity on Ruby's disappointment, and didn't give her the usual pseudonym. "It's Blanc. Blanc Argent, but only among friends. To everyone else, I'm Silver." Extending a hand, he continued. "Nice to meet you without the, you know, criminal element."

Ruby giggled slightly at Blanc's easygoing humor, then glanced at her sister. Looking between the two, she made introductions. "Blanc, this is my sister, Yang Xiao Long. Sis, this is Blanc. He helped me out with Roman. You know, at the Dust store?"

Yang's eyes lit up with recognition, and she enthusiastically seized Blanc's hand in a bone-shattering grip, shaking it to death. "Oh, so you're the swordsman she's been talking about! It's great to meet you in person, I mean, you helped my sister get accepted early!"

Silver winced, suddenly wishing for Ruby's mouse-killing voice again. In a pained voice, he managed to say, "It's a real pleasure to meet you, now may I please have my hand back before the broken bits are ground into dust?" He added a smile to lessen the bite of the words.

"Oh! Sorry!" Behind her sister, Ruby shook her head at their antics.

"Hello, and welcome to Beacon!"

The voice was disembodied, and came from the news screen. The three turned to find a familiar Huntress staring out at them. Blanc narrowed his eyes in dislike, and began to pull out and put on his armor. He still disliked the woman, for some reason. "Who is she, even? Please tell me she's not in charge of room assignments!"

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch."

Blanc pulled on the last piece of his armor, and was once again Silver. "What an ironic name."

"You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."

"Blah blah blah, so on and so forth," Silver concluded, staring out the window beside Ruby. He didn't know why, but it felt normal to be around the small scythe-fighter.

"Oh, wow! Look! You can see Signal from up here!" Silver half-turned to look at the cheerful girl beside him. She was looking down at the town below, nose almost pressed to the glass. "I guess home isn't too far after all."

Silver smiled slightly. "Home is where you fit in, Ruby. On that basis alone, I'm never home."

"Spoilsport."

"Optimist."

A retching sound from the front of the airship caught their attention, drawing them away from their lighthearted banter. A young man with blond hair was shaking violently, and began to run towards the restrooms. Silver shrugged, ignoring him past saying, "He's just overflowing with good ideas, isn't he?"

"Blanc! You're horrible! And- Oh, Yang, gross! You've got puke on your shoe!"

Silver grinned as he stood back and watched the sisters' antics. If this was what life at Beacon would be like, he decided, he could live with it.

A/N: Whew! That was painful!

For future reference, Silver is when he's in armor, Blanc when he's out and with friends.

Blanc looks a bit like Kazuma from Kaze no Stigma, but his hair's longer and is silver. His eyes are also a brighter shade of red. He is also shorter.

His usual clothing consists of the turtleneck, slacks, boots, and light gray coat. Basically, imagine Genesis Rhapsodos' coat, but with light silver-gray instead of red and a black collar and interior. Armorwise, he wears a pauldron on his left shoulder, vambraces, a plate-harness that cover the front and back of his left pectoral, and light greaves.


	3. Chapter 2: Puns, Pranks, and Pals

A/N: Sweet mother of Ashes, I'm sorry! I meant to update sooner, I swear! Life and laziness just got the better of me! Before I bribe you not to kill me, a few points. One, Silver is and will always be the fastest character in existence. Two, he has a very unique Aura, and plenty of it. Three, his symbol is a silver rose inside a square of scarlet longswords. For the sake of simplicity, it is called "Gather." Four, he is a maniacal genius with a knapsack full of toys.

Plea: Can somebody please come up with some ideas for a theme for Silver? Or a sketch? PLEASE?! It's driving me insane!

Disclaimer: I own only Blanc "Silver" Argent. And Red pretty much owns him.

-RSWBY-

-Chapter 2-

-Puns, Pranks, and Pals-

The first thing anyone heard as they exited the airship was the shout of "Go forth, young man, and throw up away from the station!"

Followed almost instantly by a shout of "Silver!" and a solid sounding, metallic thunk.

At the source of the commotion was a short girl in a mid-thigh length red-and-black dress, glaring at a silver-haired boy while rubbing her hand. The boy was doubled over, laughing heavily. Nearby, an older girl with long, curly blonde hair watched with barely concealed amusement.

"What, did you just forget I'm wearing armor there?" Silver managed to ask between gales of laughter. Clutching at his stomach, he did his best to stop laughing.

"Shut up, Silver! You were being a jerk!" Red muttered, her cheeks tinted with her namesake color. It should also be noted that her hands were inching towards the collapsed HCSS on her back.

"You know, Sis, it was actually pretty funny!" cut in the blonde, grinning mischievously.

Glancing away from the other two, Red mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'traitor.' "Well, it was sort of funny, I guess. But in a really mean way!" Red admitted, frowning.

Silver took a deep breath, straightening after picking up his knapsack, which had fallen to the ground when he began laughing. Grinning cheerfully, he walked over to Red. He then proceeded to poke her in the forehead, saying, "I _am_ mean, Red! Haven't you figured that out yet?"

Red glowered at the cheery teenager for a moment, then looked outside.

Silver blinked at the female's abrupt one-eighty in attitude. "Come on, let's go!" Almost floating with excitement, Red scampered out of the open hatch.

Sighing, the lanky silver-haired boy glanced ruefully at Red's sister. "Yang... Is Ruby always this...er... Bipolar? Excitable?"

Staring after her sister, Yang giggled and replied, "No, she's just, you know, nervous and excited. She'll calm down sometime." Making a gesture for Silver to follow her, she followed her sister's example and rushed outside.

Silver pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation, wondering if everyone at Beacon would be so easily excitable. Shifting his knapsack's strap so it rode higher on his back, he ambled after the sisters. Exiting into the bright sunlight, he winced as his pupils shrank. When they did and he could reliably see again, he found the two sisters staring in amazement at the school. Privately, he admitted that it was very impressive.

Grinning evilly, he flickered up behind the two sisters. Silently, he leaned forward until his head was located just outside their peripheral vision. Still undetected, he tapped the two on their shoulders. The two spun, though with very different intentions.

Red, who was more or less used to Silver's rapid and aggravating appearances, or at least knew him well enough to recognize it would be him, squeaked and spun around to glare at the offender. "Silver, will you just cut it out?!" It should be known that she was blushing slightly.

Yang, on the other hand, was unfamiliar with Silver's personal quirks, and assumed that the poke was a precursor to a more serious attack, reacted violently. She did spin, but didn't stop there: she used the momentum of the spin to drive forward in a vicious jab aimed at Silver's chin.

Of course, given Silver's reactions, it never hit. In no hurry to be hit by Yang's superhuman strength, he bent backwards, torso becoming parallel to the ground. Once Yang pulled back for another strike, he threw himself backwards, planting his hands on the ground and launching off of them. He flew back a full eight feet, turning a full three hundred and sixty degrees in midair. He landed easily in a kneeling position, one hand on the ground, his coat's long tail flaring dramatically.

"Geez, Yang. Do you always react like that when someone's behind you, or am I just that special?" Silver joked, brushing his messy silver hair out of his face.

"Oh, sorry, Silver! I didn't know it was you." Yang sounded apologetic, if only barely.

"It's your own fault, Blanc!" Ruby scolded, using Silver's real name and trying her hardest to sound stern. All that did was make the slightly suicidal swordsman chuckle. "If you'd stop sneaking up on people, you wouldn't get attacked by accident!"

Silver smiled slightly and did something that nobody expected. He flickered out of existence, reappearing behind Ruby. Bending down so only she could hear him, he whispered, "Ah, but if I did that, I couldn't see that adorable blush of yours anymore!" Grinning smugly, he stepped back to avoid any possible counterattack.

Ruby was trying to figure out what, exactly, had just happened. Though she didn't know it, her face was the exact same shade as Silver's eyes: deep, blood red.

_'Okay, Silver, what the Ash was that? Adorable?'_ the swordsman scolded himself mentally. _'Well, she is, but... saying it to her face like __that__?! Not acceptable!'_ Peering more closely at Red, he mumbled, "I think I broke her."

Yang, meanwhile, was watching the exchange with growing delight and barely suppressing squeals of joy. '_Aw... Sis already has a crush!'_ she thought, observing the expression on Ruby's face: silver eyes open wide, lips slightly parted, and a massive blush staining her pale features. Then she looked at Silver, and the delight quickly turned to suspicion. _'If he hurts her or is just leading her on, I swear I'll rip his balls off and feed them to him!'_ With that less than pleasant thought, her previous smile became a bloodthirsty grin.

Silver shuddered as he caught a glimpse of Yang's face. Now afraid for his health, he looked around desperately for a way to divert the sisters' attention. Pointing towards the courtyard, he carefully suggested, "So it looks like we need to go that way. See you later." Not waiting, he quickly marched towards the indicated region of the school.

Of course, the two sisters gave chase, catching up at the entrance arch. Silver, having taken the brief respite to regain his typical demeanor, was casually leaning against the aforementioned arch.

Instead of rejoining the two girls, though, he simply watched and listened.

As soon as Ruby saw the people gathered in the courtyard, she became so animated that Silver checked around for a needle. _'Surely, nobody can be that cheerful, at least not without drugs of some sort,'_he thought, shaking his head at Ruby's antics. Still, though, he stood on the sidelines.

"Ohmygosh, Sis! Look!" Ruby was clearly on some form of drug, as she had an almost... cartoony look about her. "That kid's got a collapsible staff! And she's got a fire sword!" With a dreamy look on her face, she walked forward with the gait one would normally associate with a sleep walker. Yang sighed, grabbing her sister by the hood and preventing her from going any closer to the weapons. With an ease born of long practice, she reeled her sister with a sharp tug to the captured fabric. "OW!"

_'She gets this worked up over weapons?'_ Silver blinked in surprise. He pulled out the hilts of his own weapons, looking them over. _'Huh... These guys are getting pretty worn out. I need to start on some new blueprints.'_

"Easy there, little sister. They're just weapons." Yang said in a teasing, yet bored voice. Unless Silver misread the situation entirely, this sort of thing was a fairly common occurrence.

"Just weapons?!" Silver almost broke down in laughter at the level of outrage in Red's voice. _'So, to Ruby, suggesting a weapon is just a weapon is the same thing as telling me orphans aren't worth anything. Good to know.'_ Ruby continued her monologue. "They're an extension of ourselves! They're a part of us! Oh, they're so cool!"

Silver blinked again, staring at his swords. _'A part of myself? I've never thought of these like that; I just made them to fight with.'_

Yang sighed wearily and demanded, "Well, why can't you swoon over your own weapon? Aren't you happy with it?"

Ruby pulled out her scythe-rifle, expanding it and laying a loving hand on the shaft. "Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose! I just really like seeing new ones! It's like meeting new people, but better..." She trailed off, glaring defiantly at her sister.

Silver sighed, triggering his twin blades. The parts expanded, unfolded, locked, and in a matter of seconds, he held his familiar single-edged longswords. Sadly, he contemplated the well-worn, little-loved swords. _'These things have saved my life more times than I can count, but I've never really felt any connection to them. I made them for practicality, not so that I'd feel comfortable with them...'_ Nodding to himself, he stowed the blades. _'Time to make another pair. This time, though... I think I'll go a little overboard. Hell, I made these in one night in a crappy workshop. Beacon's sure to have better facilities. Hm... If these turn out the way I want, they'll need a name...'_

For reference, Silver was, is, and forever shall be one of the world's finest micro-mechanical weaponsmiths. For him, creating a unique weapon in a state-of-the-art place like Beacon would be a labor of a few hours. And of course, he was the fastest being alive.

Shaking off his thoughts of weapon designs and resigning himself to a long, sleepless night, Silver turned his attention back to the two sisters, smiling slightly at their antics. Yang was grinning playfully, reaching over to her sister's hood and jerking it down over Red's eyes. "Ruby, come on! Why don't you try to meet some new people, maybe make some new friends? I mean, Silver's your friend, but he's... just...He's too weird to be a normal friend! Go for normal!"

Silver snarled silently in the confines of his own head as his hands twitched. Specifically, twitched towards the hilts of his swords. Eyebrow rising and a rather insane look taking over his face, the swordsman mentally roared, _'So I'm not friend material, is that it?! You stuck-up cheerleader!'_ Deep in Silver's subconscious mind, something violent began snarling.

Ruby pulled off the hood after a few seconds' struggle, scowling at her sister in a mixture of indignation and actual anger. Retracting Crescent Rose, she replaced it on her lower back. "Yang, Blanc is a bit weird, yeah, but he's a good guy. He's my friend." After a moment, her face became confused. Tilting her head to one side, she asked, "But... why would I need friends when I have you and Blanc?"

Blanc smiled softly at the slightly younger teen's words. Unlike most of his other smiles, which left his eyes untouched, this one reached his eyes. A second later, he had to flatten himself against the arch to avoid being trampled by a stampede of older teenagers. Wincing, he watched as they surrounded Yang, who hurriedly said, "Well... Actually my friends are here now, bye!" The collection of older teens then charged past Ruby, spinning her around rapidly and raising a cloud of dust.

_'Wait... We're on top of rocks. Where's the dust coming from?'_ Silver asked himself, still standing idle. He chuckled as the dust cleared, revealing Ruby. She was stumbling around as if she was drunk. Silver was honestly surprised not to see spirals replace her silver eyes.

"Wait, where are you going? Are we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are our dorms? Do we have dorms?"

Silver chuckled at Ruby's disoriented questioning of the empty air. The laughter cut off as a blood-curdling thought struck him. _'Sweet Mother of Ashes... I hope that Goodwitch woman isn't in charge of dorm assignments... She'd try to get me killed! Or buried in a coffin! OR BOTH!'_

He watched in idle amusement as Ruby comically wailed "I don't know what I'm doing!" She then proceeded to topple over, upsetting the delicate organization of the luggage that just happened to be behind her at that exact moment. At that point, Silver broke down into helpless laughter. _'How can she be so graceful fighting and such a klutz just walking around a perfectly level street?'_

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Silver winced and looked up as he heard the high-pitched scream of outrage. A girl slightly older than he was standing over Ruby, glaring down at the fallen scythe-wielder. Silver blinked, then scowled at the new girl's nearly albino appearance. Something about her just did not seem right to him.

As he watched, Ruby shook her head to clear it and propped herself up on her hands. Blinking, she looked nervously up at the bleached figure standing over her. "Uh... Sorry!"

Silver's opinion of the new girl abruptly took a nosedive, falling from "dislike" to "punch" in the ensuing seconds. Instead of accepting Ruby's apology like a mature human being, she seemed to only grow more pissed off, screaming at the now-standing fifteen year-old. "Sorry!? Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?"

"Probably less than your voice, is my guess." Silver had flickered in to stand behind the albino, pasting on his most annoying smile. "We have this new idea, you see? It's called 'volume control.' Also, there are these things called 'manners.' How is it you manage to possess neither of these, nor pigmentation?" Not waiting for the girl's inevitable reply, he walked to Ruby and asked, "How is it that everything fun happens to you, Red? You can't go five minutes without making a mess, can you?" He shook his head in mock disapproval. "Kids today..."

Setting down his knapsack, he picked up one of the fallen crates that Ruby had scattered. Cracking the lid open, he peeked inside, and quickly shut the lid. _'Dust... Gah...'_ he thought bitterly. He did not like the stuff, aside from using it to forge weapons. It reacted... poorly with his Aura. As in, 'ceased-to-be-useful-to-anyone-and-changed-materia l-entirely' poorly.

"DO you have any idea what your idiot friend did?!" Silver's eyes narrowed dangerously, and his fake grin slipped slightly. Somehow, he was growing to be very, _very_ pissed off. "Th- Oh, give me that!" The girl snapped haughtily, snatching the case out of Silver's hands roughly.

"How terribly polite of you! Would you like to know our names, or would you prefer to continue ignoring every single thing we say?" Silver's voice had enough venom in it to melt solid steel, but the albino girl managed to miss it. It also held a rather... dark threat in its tone.

"Silver! I made the mess, alright! Be annoyed with me, not her, okay!" Ruby's voice took on a slight pleading tone as she went on.

"Maybe, but you had the manners to apologize," was Silver's unapologetic answer. He admitted to himself that she did, in fact, have a point, but he didn't tell her that. As far as his rather perverted sense of honor was concerned, the albino was the wrongdoer in this scenario.

"This is Dust! Mined and purified at the Schnee Quarry!"

Silver and Red turned to look at the angry female with uncomprehending looks on their faces. While both knew about Dust, they only really knew about its uses in micro-mechanical forging. Seeing the two had very little idea of what she was talking about, the girl sighed in exasperation. Glaring hatefully at them, she ground out, "Dust?! Fire, lightning, earth, water, and air?! The power of nature?!" Seeing no appreciable reaction, she opened the case and pulled out a vial of scarlet Dust. Angrily, she began to wave it in their faces. "ARE YOU TWO BRAIN DEAD?!"

So enraged was the albino that she failed to notice the cloud of red powder that made its way to the two early-admit students. The fine particles invaded their noses, tickling them. This began the natural chain reaction that would ultimately lead to a sneeze. The girl continued to rant at the both of them, unaware of their divided attention. Taking a deep breath, she paused and glared at the two offenders with renewed ferocity. "Well, what do you have to say for yourselves? Are you two even listening to me?"

"I really wish I wasn't." Silver winced as he foresaw how the next few words would turn out, regardless of what he said. "I must say, you're a...Ah! ACHOO!" Whatever he was planning on saying was cut off by an immense sneeze that came from both himself and Red. The combined force of the violent motions was enough to set off the cloud of Dust, blowing both it and the ensuing explosion back onto the two early-admittance students' heckler. The pale girl vanished in a massive ball of fire, electricity, and ice. Silver winced yet again as he was hit by a wave of searing heat and the smell of fried ozone.

Of course, Silver wasn't polite enough to check if the girl was okay. Instead, after blinking his eyes to get rid of the afterimage left by the explosion, he stepped in front of the now-charred female. Bowing respectfully, he cheerfully said, "We now see the danger of mishandling Dust. Thank you so very much for that graphic demonstration of human stupidity." Straightening, he smiled beatifically.

Then grunted in pain when Ruby's fist rammed into the back of his head. Rubbing the affected area, he glared at the short girl. "Was that really necessary, Red?"

Red was utterly unamused. "Silver, that was... GAH! She could have DIED! AND YOU'RE MAKING JOKES!"

Silver winced as Ruby's infamous mouse-killing voice made its appearance. _'Well, there's one eardrum shot to Hell. Mother of Ashes...'_ thought the swordsman ruefully, thumping the side of his head with the heel of his hand. Sighing, he glanced at Ruby, then at the blackened albino, then back at his friend. Hanging his head, he muttered, "Yeah, I know. Still, she was being a complete bitch about it." Looking back up at Red, he smiled slightly and admitted, "But I was being an ass about it. In the future, please repeat your actions if I ever act that way towards a possible ally again."

Red's jaw dropped. "Where's Silver, and who are you?!" Shaking her head in disbelief, she turned her attention to the albino once more. "Sorry about him. Are you okay?"

The girl snarled in rage, shaking off the layer of char. Pointing angrily at Red, she spat, "You complete idiot! How did you even get here?! Are you even old enough to be at Beacon?"

Red flinched at the last comment, and a very unpleasant smirk appeared on the girl's face. "You aren't, are you? Well, this isn't your ordinary combat school. It's not just sparring and training here. We're here to fight monsters, so... just watch where you're going! Better yet, go back to Signal!"

The girl's words had made Red tear up, her worst doubts about her own abilities coming to the surface. Of course, that was not unnoticed by Silver. His smile vanished, replaced by a dark scowl that was, if anything, expressing a desire to deprive the offender of their head. Instead of their usual veil of fake cheer, his eyes were boiling in rage. Far easier to notice was the fact that he had his swords out, fully extended, and leveled at the albino's throat. The edges gleamed dully, only a half-foot from their target.

"If you ever, ever say that again... I swear on everything holy that I will cut you in half."

Silver's voice was chilling, to say the least. Instead of yelling in rage, it was like he was frozen with it. It was dark enough to force the girl to take an involuntary step back. It sounded like a Beowulf speaking through a human's throat.

"Um, Silver? Can you put away the swords? I think you made your point." Red's voice was surprised, and just a bit fearful. It shook her concept of the slightly older teenager to hear him speak in such an evil voice, and to see such an enraged expression on his face made her doubt the amount of trust she had in the swordsman. Glancing at his companion, Silver nodded, returning to his previous relaxed, lazy stance.

Rubbing the back of his head, Silver chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry. I tend to get a bit... ah... overprotective of my friends. Didn't mean to scare you, Red."

Red nodded, having noticed that Silver did have a tendency to go overboard when those he considered friends were in any form of distress. Looking over to the shaken rich girl, she nervously said, "Look, I'm sorry about this. We both are!"

"We are?" A few seconds later, Red squashed Silver's toes beneath her heel. "AY mean, of course we are!"

"Gah! What is your problem!"

Red blinked at the girl's annoyed exclamation, then spat, "Look, Princess, we said we were sorry!"

"It's heiress, actually." The three teenagers turned to look towards the source of the new voice. This turned out to be a girl around the albino's age, with long black hair and black-and-white clothing. Sensing the opportunity for a joke, Silver pulled something out of his pocket. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest producers of energy propellent in the world."

Silver broke down into a fit of giggles at that point. The three grils stared at him with various states of confusion on their faces. For Red, this meant her head tilted slightly to one side. Weiss' face looked more annoyed than anything, and the new girl had raised one eyebrow. Looking up at his audience, Silver grinned hugely. "Well, it explains her attitude, doesn't it?" Grinning even more hugely, he unfolded the object he had taken from his pocket: a pair of sleek sunglasses. "She was just..." He slid the glasses over his eyes, then deadpanned the punch line. "Putting on airs*."

No matter their opinion of him, all three girls felt a large sweatdrop form on their necks at Silver's attempt at humor. "Not even amusing. But it's nice to see someone recognizes me," was the Schnee's verdict, raising her chin haughtily.

"The very same company that is infamous for its controversial labor force and questionable business partners." Silver's opinion of the newcomer was now far higher than he had thought possible.

"What? How dare you- The nerve of- UGH!" The heiress mashed her words in her fury.

"Truly stellar language skills, Miss Schnee. Truly astonishing!" Silver taunted, holding back another grin. The jibe had the desired effect, though: After grabbing the vial of Dust off the ground, Weiss stormed off. Cupping his hands around his mouth, Silver called after her. "Nice meeting you too! Don't forget to write!"

Red gave Silver a long-suffering look reminiscent of a kicked puppy before calling after the girl as well. "I'm sorry! I promise I'll make this up to you!" Sighing, she turned back to the other girl, only to find her gone. "I didn't even get to ask her name..." Letting out an exasperated cry, she fell back on the concrete, mumbling, "Welcome to Beacon."

A thump later, and Silver joined her, his head at a right angle to hers. "Yep. Sorry if I screwed things up for you, I just tend to be a bit... outspoken." He had already removed his sunglasses, incidentally.

"Outspoken?"

"Okay, try 'intrusive and offensive.'"

The two lay there for about five minutes, staring up at the clouds until a shadow fell over their heads. Looking at it's owner, they found a familiar figure offering them both a hand. "Hey. I'm Jaune."

Ruby smiled slightly, accepting the offered hand. "Ruby."

Silver smiled then, and also took the older swordsman's hand. "I am known as Valentinez Alkalinella Xifax Sicidabohertz Gombigobilla Blue Stradivari Talentrent Pierre Andri Charton-Haymoss Ivanovici Baldeus George Doitzel Kaiser III. I don't answer to nicknames."

After laughing at Jaune's bewildered look, Red lightly slapped Silver's shoulder, making sure to hit an unarmored area. "Blanc, don't confuse people."

"What? It's not the worst stunt I've pulled!" Smiling lightheartedly, he looked over their newest companion. Pointing, he slowly said, "Hey- Aren't you the guy who threw up on the way here?"

-Later-

"All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on!" Jaune protested as the trio walked into a small garden area situated around a fountain. He and Red had been arguing about his motion sickness for about fifteen minutes, with Silver jumping in with occasional puns.

"He's right, actually. I remember the first time I figured out how to use my speed. Not fun." Silver shuddered at the memory: it involved more bleach and soap than he thought was in existence. He then grinned at the blonde teenager. "So, Jaune, do you mind us calling you Vomit Boy?"

Red laughed as Jaune's face turned an interesting mix of red and white. "Look, the name's Jaune d'Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue-" At that point, Silver began to laugh so hard he fell face-first to the ground.

Rolling over, he managed to chuckle, "Since you're known for throwing up, I'd advise you to never say your name 'rolls off the tongue.' Too much potential for jokes." At that, he lost his control and devolved back into laughter. The other two teens stared at him for a few seconds, faces blank.

Clearing her throat in an attempt to change topics, Ruby pulled out her scythe. Deploying it, she stuck it in the ground and said, "Well, I've got this thing."

Jaune flinched as the oversized weapon flashed past his nose, then stared at it in awe. "Is that a scythe?"

Ruby grinned and nodded, patting the haft happily. "It's also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle."

"Huh?" Jaune asked, looking confused.

Silver took pity on the older swordsman. "It's a scythe with a small cannon built in, and it is not fun to be on the receiving end of. Trust me!" Grinning, he pulled out his twin blades. "I've got these, at least for a bit longer. Dual swords with a merging function."

"Huh?"

"He means they can combine into another weapon. Right?" Ruby nodded knowledgeably at her fellow armaments enthusiast.

Silver nodded at the short girl. "Yeah, they can merge into a claymore. But... I'm retiring them soon. I didn't make them to be mine, you know? I just happen to be their wielder."

"Wow... You two know a lot about weapons..." Jaune trailed off, looking a bit embarrassed. He unsheathed his own sword, gesturing to it. "All I have is this old thing."

Silver gave the blade a careful look, then smirked slightly. "That's old. That's a sword with a bit of history, isn't it?"

Jaune grinned in embarrassment and nodded. "Yeah, my great-great-grandfather used it in the war. It goes with the shield."

Ruby tilted her head slightly and curiously asked, "What shield? You have a shield? Where?"

Silver sighed at his friend's weapon fixation, but he did make a 'go-ahead' gesture towards the blonde teenager.

Smiling nervously, Jaune pulled out his sheath, which expanded into a small kite shield. Silver nodded, saying, "Two object style. I like this guy." Ruby gave him an uncomprehending glance, as did the sword-and-boarder. Sighing, Silver rubbed his forehead and explained his comment. "If I'm fighting anyone that can keep up with me, I use my left hand sword as a defense, and my right hand as an offense. Of course, I'm ambidextrous, so..." He trialed off, making a 'so-so' gesture with his hand.

"Oh! So you can actually fight without that cool teleportation, super speed thing?" Ruby cheered, looking forward to possibly sparring with her friend. Silver winced at the note of surprise in her voice.

"UM... I think I'm missing something here?" Jaune gave them both a lost-kicked-puppy look, replacing his equipment at his waist.

"I'm fast. Most people can't even see me moving when I'm fighting." Shrugging, Silver looked around, then at his two companions. "Um... Do we have any idea where we were going?"

"No, I was following him." Ruby pointed at Jaune.

"What? I was following you two!"

"Just great... Any ideas, guys?"

"UM... look for a landmark or something? Maybe a map or a food court?" Jaune blinked as Silver suddenly grinned at him happily. "Er... W-why are you grinning at me like that? Did I say something funny?"

"Red... I like this guy! He has his priorities in order: food, then work!" Silver grinned at his shorter friend as they all walked towards the building's entrance. Ruby laughed at Silver's impulsive behavior, with Jaune joining in a bit sheepishly.

A/N: Whew! So, recap: Silver begins to openly flirt with Ruby, gets along with the Barf-Boy, likes Blake in a nonromantic sense, and has threatened to kill Weiss! And Yellow is already showing her overprotective side! What fun!

Addendum: Has anyone picked up on Silver's luck with odd guesses and the like?

Post-Addendum Addendum: Did anyone get the shout out to one of the greatest anime gunmen ever?

P-A A P-A: So, I'm not sure if I should introduce yet another new character as Silver's partner. Please, review and advise! Or, you know, just review...


	4. Chapter Four: Impressions and Situations

A/N: Yo! So, this chapter has Silver vanishing for a bit. Trust me, he does that quite often. Sadly, this is necessary for any level of credibility to remain. One does not document the process of forging, it just isn't done. So, I'll shut up, and let you read as I further mess with our heroes (and heroines.)

Plea: Seriously, please review. I'm not going to start holding chapters hostage, I just appreciate feedback. And it makes me feel happy, knowing people actually read my stuff!

Disclaimer: Seriously? You've already read it twice... or is it three times? I do not own RWBY.

-RSWBY-

-Chapter 3-

-Impressions and Awkward Moments-

Silver grinned slightly as he and his companions made their way towards the auditorium's entrance. "So, let me get this straight: we just walked around aimlessly for almost an hour... only to find out that we needed to go to the first place we should have checked? Because that makes perfect sense." The swordsman looked to either side in mild amusement; he was in the middle of the trio.

"It made sense to me!" protested a tall blond teenager with a sword, shaking his hands in front of him.

"Oh, well. At least we had time to talk!" was the only female's positive spin on the situation. She smiled winningly at her two companions, but mostly at the silver-haired swordsman.

"Can you please stop doing that?" Silver complained.

Cue innocent look from Red. "Doing what?"

"That!" Silver pointed at the wide-eyed, 'I-didn't-do-anything-wrong' face Red was directing at him. "It looks like I just kicked your puppy. That makes it really hard to be sarcastic."

Red blinked, then nodded apologetically. "Sorry."

Silver grinned, ruffling the girl's short black-red hair. "No problem." Red squeaked in embarrassment, then glared at the swordsman. He simply chuckled.

By this time, the trio had navigated through the ornate arch that served as the auditorium's entrance, and entered the building proper. Silver raised an eyebrow at the number of people gathered within, while Red looked around for her sister.

"Ruby! Silver! I saved you guys spots!" The two teenagers looked towards the person who had called their names. A cheerful blonde was waving at them enthusiastically from deeper in the crowd.

"Oh!" Ruby turned towards the only unnamed companion. "Hey, we gotta go. See you after the ceremony!" Turning, she scampered over to her sister's location.

Silver sighed, giving Jaune a look that clearly asked what, exactly, he had done to deserve such punishment. Patting the older swordsman's shoulder, he said, "Catch ya later. Oh, and avoid any women without pigmentation!" With that odd bit of advice, he flickered out of existence, reappearing behind the two sisters.

Jaune shook his head, sighing in mournful exasperation. "Ah, great. Where else am I supposed to find nice, quirky people to talk to?"

Silver heard the rhetorical question from his friend, and glanced over at the hapless older teen. What he saw brought a grin to his face. "Hey, Ruby, Yang? I'll be gone for a minute." Before either girl could protest, he flickered out of existence. Reappearing behind Jaune, he tapped the teen's shoulderguard. "I'd advise looking behind you. That's just me, though." Flashing a peace sign, he flickered out of existence again.

Blinking, Jaune muttered, "Huh?" Turning, he found a tall, attractive girl with fiery red hair watching him closely. "Er...Hi. I'm Jaune d'Arc." He waved awkwardly.

Back with the sisters, Silver grinned as he watched the somewhat helpless blonde strike up a conversation with the redhead. _'Ah, the start of yet another friendship,'_ he thought, giving himself the mental equivalent of a pat on the back.

Yang had watched the younger fighter's actions with a small grin. _'Hm... Is he already starting to play matchmaker? I might get along with him after all!'_ Crossing her arms, she gave the two early-admit students a knowing look. "So, how's your first day been? Anything interesting happen yet?"

Ruby and Silver shared a weary glance, then returned their attention to Yang. Ruby scowled at the smiling blonde. "You mean, after you ditched us and we **exploded**?"

Yang grinned at her younger sister's word choice. "Yikes. Meltdowns for both of you?

Already?"

Silver shook his head, smiling slightly. "No, as in, actual explosion. There was some fire, and some ice, and I think there was lightning... Whatever. It all makes a crater, no matter how ya slice it." He shrugged carelessly.

"Are you two making fun of me?" Yang asked, grinning broadly at the two partners in crime.

Ruby scoffed, crossing her arms. "I wish! I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me, then Blanc jumped in." She sent a small smile of gratitude towards the silver-haired boy, then continued her narration. "Then we sneezed, and then she blew up, and then she yelled again, and then Blanc almost killed her, and then I felt really, really bad and I just wanted her to stop yelling at us!"

Yang blinked at the rapid-fire relation of events, while Blanc simply sighed at Ruby's tendency to babble.

"**YOU TWO!**"

"Oh, God, it's happening again!" Ruby panicked and jumped onto Blanc.

"Uh...R-Ruby?" Blanc's face turned the color of his eyes as he found the small girl's face only a few inches away from his own. He was also intimately aware of the fact that he was holding Ruby, having instinctively caught her. _'I'm not sure which is worse. The fact this is actually happening or the fact that I really don't mind it?'_

"Er... S-sorry, Blanc..." Ruby trailed off, cheeks putting her namesake to shame.

Yang was watching the two, torn between taking a picture to tease Ruby with and killing Blanc. Her face was frozen in a grin, while her fists were clenched tightly.

Silver smiled awkwardly, lowering Ruby to the ground. Rubbing the back of his neck, he laughed, glancing nervously at Ruby's sister. Ruby awkwardly kicked the ground. Seeking to eliminate the pregnant pause that ensued, and to clear his head, Silver turned to the original cause of the odd scene. "Oh. You."

Silver's voice instantly turned hostile upon seeing the offender. Ruby nervously slid halfway behind Silver, using him as a human shield. The cause of their less-than-welcoming reactions was the presence of the albino girl from earlier, the one they had blown up. Scowling angrily, the colorless girl pointed at the two early admits. "You two are lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!"

Yang slowly shook her head, disbelief evident on her face. "Oh, my God... You two actually exploded..."

Ruby instantly protested. "It was an accident!" Stepping out from behind Silver, she bowed her head in apology to the other girl. "I'm really, really sorry about earlier; it was an accident."

Weiss scowled, and held out a pair of pamphlets to the two younger teenagers. "What's this?" Ruby asked, somewhat confused.

"It appears to be paper." Silver's deadpanned remark earned him a baleful glare from the albino. Smiling lazily, he returned his gaze to the pamphlet. _'Dust for Dummies and...Wow... And I thought I was a jerk, this girl should teach classes!'_

"The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company product." Silver grimaced as he and Red were subjected to what sounded like a legal disclaimer. He flickered out of sight, reappearing behind Weiss. He began to copy her actions mockingly, leading Red to clamp both hands over her mouth in an effort to stifle her laughter. "Although not mandatory, the Schnee Family highly encourages customers to read and familiarize themselves with this easy to follow guide to Dust applications and practices in the field."

Grinning impudently, Silver slyly asked, "Do those applications include blowing yourself up?"

Ruby giggled at that point. Weiss glared at Silver with hate-filled eyes, but didn't deign to answer his taunt. Turning her frigid glare to Ruby, she pointedly asked, "You really want to start making things up to me?"

Ruby nodded eagerly. "Yeah!"

Silver just shrugged. "I really couldn't care less."

"Read those, and don't ever speak to me again." Weiss scowled at the two, doing her best to kill them through hateful staring alone.

"If you keep scowling like that, your face might freeze that way, Ice Queen." Silver grinned at the hostile girl. "If it hasn't already," he muttered in an undertone.

Yang sighed at the trio's conflicting personalities and antics. "Look, uh, it sounds like you three just got off on the wrong foot. Why don't you just start over and try to be friends?"

Silver grimaced and shook his head. "Even if I wanted to, I really couldn't. I don't forgive people easily."

Ruby winced at Silver's eternal stubbornness and kicked him in the shin. A hollow clank was the result as her metal-toed boot met with his armor. "Come on, Blanc, don't be so mean!" Turning to Weiss, she extended a hand in apology. "I'm Ruby. It's nice to meet you! Wanna hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies!"

Blanc stared at Red for a full five seconds, then rammed his hand into his forehead, sighing in exasperation as he did so. _'How can anyone be that freaking nice?! Sweet Mother of Ashes, I hope that mindset isn't contagious!'_

Yang laughed at the swordsman's response to Ruby's friendly attitude. The blond girl gave the exasperated boy a comforting pat on the back, barely holding back another fit of laughter. "There, there."

Weiss pasted on a bright smile, and replied with enough sarcasm to kill a lesser person. "Yeah! And we can paint our nails and try on clothes and talk about cute boys, like tall, silver, and weird here!" She pointed at Blanc.

Ruby blinked, then scowled at Weiss. "I'm nice, not dumb! You don't have to be sarcastic about it! And Blanc is **not** weird!"

Blanc smiled slightly at Ruby's defense of him. "I am sort of weird, actually, Ruby. But the thought is appreciated." The smile turned from his usual cynical twist of the lips to a smile that actually touched his eyes. "Thank you."

The three girls blinked in mild surprise at the change the small act of smiling had on Blanc's features. The small lines between his eyebrows vanished, as did the tense set to his jaw. The air of bitter, self-mocking sorrow evaporated from around his eyes. All in all, it transformed the cynical, sarcastic swordsman into a much more cheerful-seeming person.

Within a minute, though, Silver's usual demeanor reasserted itself. "Ozpin's about to say something." He pointed up at the stage, where an older silver-haired man was preparing to address the students.

The professor cleared his throat and thumped the microphone twice. "I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge- to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction."

Silver scoffed half-heartedly. "Then give us a compass." The two sisters glared at him, but noticed that his humor lacked its usual effort.

"You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." Sweeping his penetrating gaze over the massed students one last time, he turned to leave.

Ruby used the lull in speakers to poke Silver in the side. "Hey, Blanc. Are you okay?" The cause for her concern was the fact that her cheerful companion was staring at the ground, eyes downcast and far more mournful than normal.

"Yeah. I'm fine, Red."

On stage, the Huntress who had set Ruby and Blanc on the path to Beacon stepped up to the microphone. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."

Yang glanced at her sister and friend. "Was it just me? Or did he seem kind of... off?"

Ruby nodded, still looking at Blanc in concern. "It's almost like he wasn't even there."

"Probably lost in his own thoughts." Silver's voice was quieter than normal, more serious and mature. Looking up, he grinned at the two sisters. "Listen, I've got to go ask the Headmaster a question. I'll probably be pulling a late night, so save me a spot, eh? Thanks!" Before anyone could comment, he flickered away.

"Why does he always do that?" Ruby wondered out loud. Yang shrugged.

-Later-

Ruby was sprawled out on her sleeping bag, writing. All around her, other students were in similar positions. Dressed in a black tank-top and rose-patterned pants, Ruby was less than aware of the world around her. To her left was an empty sleeping bag, with a small note reading 'Blanc Argent.'

"It's like a big slumber party!" Ruby glanced up to find Yang crashing onto her own sleeping bag, to Ruby's right side.

"I don't think Dad would approve of all the boys, though," Ruby said absently, going back to writing.

Yang grinned appreciatively at a group of muscular, shirtless boys. "I know I do!" She then gave her sister a sly glance. "And I doubt you object to the idea of Blanc being around, do you?"

Ruby flushed slightly, but continued writing in her notebook. "Blanc's different, sis. He's already a really good friend!"

Yang laughed , poking her sister's cheek. "That blush tells a different story, little sister! Admit it, you like him!"

Ruby's cheeks flared scarlet at Yang's accusation. "S-shut up! I do not!" When Yang kept laughing, Ruby resorted to delivering a pillow via air mail. Cheeks still flaming, she went back to her notebook.

"Whatcha writing?" Yang inquired, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes as she leaned in to read over her sister's shoulder.

"Oh, just a letter to the gang back at Signal. I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going," Ruby answered, still writing in the small book.

Yang grinned broadly at her sister's plan. "Aw, that's so cute! Are you going to mention Silver?"

Ruby slammed her pen down, looking up at her sister balefully. "Cut it out! I do not like him!" Sighing, she flipped over onto her back. "Besides, I didn't get to take my friends with me to school!" She looked down, somewhat depressed by that. "It's weird not knowing anyone here."

Yang grinned at her sister's worries. "What about Jaune? He's... nice! There you go, plus one friend! That's a hundred percent increase!"

Ruby rolled her eyes, staring up at the ceiling. "Pretty sure Weiss counts as a negative friend. Back to zero!" The last was delivered with a Silver-like sarcastic cheer.

Yang scoffed playfully at her sister. "There's no such things as negative friends! You just made one friend and... one enemy!" Another pillow flew at her face, scoring a direct hit on the blonde. Sighing, she gently punched her downcast sister's shoulder. "Look, it's only been one day. Trust me, you've got friends all around you! You just haven't met them yet!"

Ruby smiled gratefully at her sister's attempt to cheer her up. "Yeah, you're right. And besides, I've already got you and Blanc." The sisters then noticed that someone had lit a candle next to the wall, sending a wavering light over the area. Ruby looked over at the candle, recognizing its owner. "That girl..."

Yang looked over at the girl, who was reading a rather thick book. "You know her?"

Ruby shook her head. "Not really, She saw what happened this morning, but left before we could say anything."

Standing, Yang smiled broadly. Grabbing Ruby by her arm, she hauled her little sister over to the reading girl's spot, declaring cheerily, "Well, now's your chance!"

"Wait! What are you doing?!" Ruby protested, struggling futilely against Yang's iron grip. Despite her best efforts, the blonde dragged the helpless Ruby across the floor.

" Hel-looo! I believe you two may know each other?" Yang cheerfully greeted the girl, who had looked up slightly from her book.

Studying the two for a moment with sharp amber eyes, the girl blinked. "Aren't you the girl who exploded? With the guy in the coat?"

Ruby winced as Yang released her arm. Rubbing the abused appendage, she smiled in minor embarrassment at the recognition. "Uh, yeah. That was me. I mean, us. I mean..." Shaking her head, Ruby tried again. "I'm Ruby. The guy in the coat was Silver."

The black-haired girl went back to her book, muttering, "Okay." Ruby just stood, smiling awkwardly.

Yang sighed in exasperation at her sister's social ineptness. "What are you doing?" she hissed under her breath.

"I don't know! Help me!" Ruby hissed back, glaring at her sister in equal parts accusation ad pleading.

Yang grimaced, then humored her sister's plea. "So, what's your name?" she cheerfully asked the bookworm.

"Blake." The girl seemed utterly uninterested in talking, but was rather annoyed that her reading had been interrupted.

Yang grinned awkwardly. "Well, Blake, I'm Ruby's older sister, Yang!" Casting about for a way to engage the quiet girl in a conversation, she noticed the cat ears Blake was wearing. "I like your bow!"

Blake's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, and her voice was just as irritated. "Thanks."

Ruby winced, recognizing some of Blanc's manner in Blake's attitude. Yang, though, either didn't notice or didn't care. "It goes great with your... pajamas!"

Blake sighed in exasperation. "Riiight..."

Ruby laughed nervously, not wanting to become involved in a possible fight. Yang smiled and glanced at her shorter sister. "Er, nice night, don't you think?"

Blake's hands tightened on the cover of the book before she replied. "Yes- It's lovely! Almost as lovely as this book! Which I will continue to read. As soon as you leave!"

Yang blinked, then shrugged to her sister. "Yeah, this girl's a lost cause."

Ruby, though, had her interest piqued. "What's it about?"

Blake looked up at Ruby, somewhat confused by her question. "Huh?"

Ruby smiled and clarified her question, gesturing at the novel. "Your book. Does it have a name?"

"Well... i-it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body," Blake explained, closing the book slightly.

Yang rolled her eyes and sarcastically scoffed, "Oh, yeah... That's **real** lovely!"

Ruby stepped forward, smiling at the fact she had found a common interest with the asocial girl.

"I love books. Yang used to read to me every night before bed." She smiled a bit absently, reliving some of the fond memories. "Stories of heroes and monsters... They're one of the reasons I want to be a Huntress!" She finished with a blindingly sincere grin.

Blake hid a small smile behind her book. "And why is that?" She laughed lightly, eyes crinkling slightly as her smile widened. "Hoping you'll live happily ever after?"

Yang, sporting yet another of her mischievous smiles, cut in with yet another jab at her sister. "Maybe with a certain silver-haired boy?"

Ruby glared at her sister, silently wishing for something to fall on her. Blake glanced between the innocently grinning Yang and glaring Ruby, noticing the slightly pink tinge on the latter's cheeks. "Am I missing something?" she inquired curiously, lowering her book a tiny bit.

"No! Yang's just bugging me about something that totally is not true!"

Blake gave Ruby a deadpan stare, then remarked slyly, "Methinks the lady doth protest too much." If one were to look close enough, they'd be able to see the small, sly smile forming on the black-haired girl's lips. "But... Do you really think you'll get a happy ending?"

Ruby smiled and nodded enthusiastically, silver eyes shining. "Well, I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves!" She was in full stride by the end of her short monologue, sincerity emanating from her in almost palpable amounts.

Blake smiled at the younger girl's obviously honest answer and bright, upbeat attitude. "That's... very ambitious for a child." Her smile turned into a slightly concerned, pensive frown. "Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale."

Ruby nodded at the quieter girl's point, but only seemed to grow more optimistic. "Well, that's why we're here. To make it better."

Yang cheered joyfully, squishing her shorter sibling in a massive hug and lifting the squirming scythe-wielder into the air. "Oh, I'm so proud of my baby sister!"

Ruby growled, then kicked her legs out in an attempt to break free of her sister's grip by momentum. "Yang, cut it out!" The older sister responded with an elbow to the back, and the entire scene quickly degenerated from there. As in, punching-and-kicking degenerated.

Blake chuckled and shook her head at the sisters' antics. Smiling slightly, she began, "Well, Ruby, Yang, it's a pleasure to ha-"

"What in the world is going on over here?!" Ruby had just seized Yang's leg and immobilized it when the all-too familiar voice reached their ears. A white-haired girl had stormed over to the chaotic corner, face contorted in a mask of annoyance. "Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?"

Yang noticed the girl's identity the same second that the newcomer saw her and Ruby. They pointed at each other and wailed melodramatically, in perfect sync, "Oh no! Not you again!"

Ruby, always the one to try to defuse arguments, quickly shushed the two older girls. "Shh! Guys, she's right! People are trying to sleep!" she pleaded frantically, looking between the two glaring women.

"Oh, now you're on my side!" the white-haired girl sneered, bracing her hands on her hips and giving Red an unimpressed glare.

"I was always on your side!" Ruby protested, shrugging. After a moment, she amended her statement. "Except for when you were being sarcastic."

"Yeah! What's your problem with my sister?!" Yang demanded, mirroring Weiss' pose.

"She and that idiot are hazards to my health!" accused the albino girl. She looked around the small group as if noticing something for the first time. "Where is that guy, anyway?"

Ruby looked to one side, muttering worriedly, "I haven't seen him in a few hours. He said he needed to talk to Ozpin about something, and to save him a spot..." She trailed off, a bit more worried about her friend than she had been a few minutes earlier.

"Don't worry, sis! Blanc's like a dog, he always shows up!" Yang reassured her sister, ruffling the shorter girl's black-red hair. Ruby nodded, smiling slightly. Weiss scoffed at the younger girl's reliance on her taller, far scarier, companion. Blake rolled her eyes and blew out her candle.

-Later-

It was a bit after midnight when Ruby was awoken by a shuffling sound beside her sleeping bag. Blinking tiredly, she pushed herself up into a sitting position and tried to identify the indistinct shape that was moving beside her. "Mmh... Wh's 'at?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"Oh. Hey, Red. Sorry I woke you up," Blanc's voice answered, quieter than normal, from only a few feet away. He lowered himself into his own sleeping bag, drawing the upper flap up over his lap. "Did I miss anything life shattering?"

"No, not much. Talked to that black-haired girl from earlier. Argued with Yang." Ruby gave the swordsman a quick rundown on the events of the evening.

"You and Yang argued? Do I even want to know why?" Blanc inquired with his usual humor, undoubtedly smiling in the dark.

"No! I mean, it wasn't anything major. It was just her teasing me, honest!" Ruby babbled, not wanting to explain what, specifically, Yang had been taunting her about. Unknown to Blanc, she was blushing again. She was cut off, though, when her friend gently poked her in the forehead.

"Heheh. Alright, I get it. None of my business," Blanc dismissed the topic, setting his pillow up to his preferences. That done, he lay back, letting out a half-pained, half-weary sigh as he did so.

"You okay, Blanc?" Ruby asked, worried about the ruby-eyed teenager. It was the first time she had ever heard him sound tired, or in actual pain, and it was not a thing she liked hearing.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just... a bit drained from working on my projects," Blanc dismissed the girl's worries casually, doing a very good job at hiding the slight edge in his voice that indicated pain. He yawned hugely, stretching out his shoulders and arms. "G'night, Ruby. Sleep well..."

Ruby blinked in surprise as her friend trailed off mid-sentence, beginning to snore softly as he did so. 'He must really be tired,' she mused, laying back in her own bedding. "Huh... He used my real name..." she murmured, already falling asleep.

A/N: And thus ends their first day at Beacon! Yes, Ruby and Blanc are already dealing with mutual attraction, but are still in denial about it. Ruby more so than Blanc. Yang is doing the typical older sister act of teasing her little sister, Weiss is... herself, and Blake is amused.

A note on Weiss and Blanc. These two are so alike it's scary. They both hide behind masks, only that Blanc's mask is far more friendly and less standoffish. It's sort of like those people you should get along with perfectly, but instead, you just hate each other. Don't worry, they will eventually stop trying to kill each other, but will always be like water and potassium.

And, yes, I did introduce Jaune and Pyrrha an episode early. Sue me. I just like messing around with pairings. Hopeless romantic, as anyone who knows me will tell you.


End file.
